Simon Campos
Simon Campos is a universally lauded scientific genius. A colleague of Lloyd Simcoe’s who is responsible for many of the most remarkable feats in modern physics, including, according to Lloyd, the “experiment” which led to the GBO. Arrogant, funny, and wildly unpredictable, Simon is a mercurial force and an enigma to those who meet him. Thrust into the spotlight and painted as a villain by the entire world, Simon’s determined to disprove Lloyd’s assertion and show the world that he and Lloyd were not responsible for the GBO, or, at least, not solely responsible. In an effort to exonerate himself and get to the bottom of what really happened October 6th, 2009, Simon offers his self-declared brilliance to the FBI as a new member of the Mosaic Task Force. In Revelation Zero, it is revealed that Campos was the man called Suspect Zero by the FBI, and the man who was awake during the blackout, along with Flosso and D. Gibbons. Character Biography Pre-GBO Little is known about Simon's life before the flash. He holds multiple PhDs in various fields in the physical sciences. He is arrogant with the intellect to support the attitude. He grew up in Manchester, England and his family moved to Ontario, Canada, when Simon got a laboratory job at age eighteen. He was considered to be a genius in quantum mechanics. He was a scientist at the National Linear Accelerator Project working on an experiment using "proton-driven plasma wakefield acceleration" to "reproduce the kind of energy levels that existed right after the Big Bang". This experiment may have resulted in the Global Blackout. In 1992, he came up with the concept of a specialized pulsed laser for a plasma afterburner -- a concept he says will earn him a Nobel. Simon's younger sister Annabelle is now being held captive by men who are in cohoots with "Uncle Teddy". Flash Forward Simon describes that in his flash-forward he was in a fight with another unnamed man whom he then choked to death. He adds that he then looked down at the man's dead body with satisfaction. But this is not true because he is Suspect Zero, he stayed awake during the GBO because of the Alpha ring he wore when the "waves" of the black out occured. Post-GBO While entertaining his son, Lloyd receives a call from Simon, who says they need to talk. Although Lloyd states it is not a good time to meet, Simon dismisses his claim, saying that meeting up with him is an inconvenience he has to put up with, since they are responsible for the "single greatest disaster in human history." Simon is next seen on a train, and it is revealed through conversation with a young woman passenger that he is a well-known physics genius. He begins explaining theories about time and space, further suggesting his involvement in causing the flashforward. After the two sleep together, Simon reveals that he saw himself strangling a man to death in his flashforward, which the woman is surprised by this information. Simon later appears in the back seat of Lloyd's car, complaining that Lloyd "never calls," and Lloyd expresses regret for his involvement in the flashforward before the two drive off together. Simon is later seen toying with a bracelet that spells Annabelle. Subsequently, Simon finds Lloyd in his son's hospital room, establishes that Dylan will be able to leave the hospital shortly - conferring with Olivia Benford - and engages in a game of poker to settle a dispute over going public about the GBO with Lloyd. Though Simon was obviously the superior player, he lost in a winner takes all hand with Lloyd. Myhill, Simcoe, and Campos subsequently call a press conference in Palo Alto, California in which they announce that they had conducted an experiment on October 6 at 11: am to "reproduce the kind of energy levels that existed just after the Big Bang on a more controllable scale." Lloyd explains that the experiment was responsible for the Global Blackout; Simon disagrees vocally and Myhill shakes his head. The crowd erupts with questions and an outraged woman takes a weapon from a guard and attempts to shoot Simon and Lloyd. After the conference he goes to the FBI office and offers to work with the FBI to find the true culprit of the GBO. Although, when questioned, he does not know the identity of D. Gibbons, Simon helps the FBI conclude that D. Gibbons is a both physics genius, paranoid, and recluse. He also identifies that each of the Ganwar towers in Somalia from 1991, as being a specialized pulsed laser for a plasma afterburner (the same concept he developed in 1992), but is confused because they can't exist due to current technological restraints. Simon then offers to permanently join the Mosaic Investigation in hopes of finding D. Gibbons, annoyed that he "sharked" the afterburner design. While working with the FBI, he goes into Simcoe's home to try and break into his computer. While there, he is kidnapped by Flosso's men. In an attempt to get Simcoe to talk, Flosso tortures Simon, first by blowing cigar ash into his face and later by cutting off his pinky finger. When Benford breaks through the door, Simon takes a gun from one of Flosso's men and shoots and kills the last of Flosso's men in the backyard. At the hospital, Simon is put under surveillance by the FBI and Janis. Faking a penicillin allergy, he escapes to Toronto, where he is again captured by the FBI. Wedeck tells Janis to allow Simon to remain in Toronto for the night. He tries to evade Janis again and visits an old professor, but Janis finds him there due to frequent phone calls in the last few days. Simon and the professor, Philippe, discuss the possibility of another blackout, and how to "anchor" consciousness to the present. Later, back at Simon's family, “Uncle Teddy” shows up – and is revealed to be Flosso. Simon is very hostile towards Flosso. Simon's sister, Annabelle calls, claiming to be in New York and be headed home. Unseen by everybody else, Flosso shows a video of Annabelle being held at gunpoint to Simon. Flosso urges Simon to cooperate. Outside, Flosso reveales that Simon's professor is dead in the back of his car's trunk. Simon then killes Flosso by cutting off air in his chest, saying he was "cutting off the middleman". Trivia *Simon is the name of an electronic memory game popular during the 1980's. It challenged the user's memory by randomly generating sequences of colors and sounds that the user must match to move on to more, longer sequences. The slogan for the game was: "Simon's a computer, Simon has a brain, you either do what Simon says or else go down the drain." *Simon has appeared in of aired episodes. *The derivation of the name Simon, as either a first or a last name, is from the Jewish name Shimeon, which means "one who harkens." Harken or Hark was often used as an imperative way to say listen - as in "Hark, the herald angels sing." Today it's also used a lot in conjunction with the word "back - as in "harken back to earlier times" - where the two words mean something akin to "pay attention to what has already happened." Another character also has a last name that's derived from Shimeon - Lloyd [http://www.surnamedb.com/surname.aspx?name=simcoe Simcoe]. *The surname Campos is popular among Portuguese and Spanish language countries, translating to the word 'fields' in English. Simon's surname was established in "Playing Cards with Coyote". Unanswered Questions *What is his relation to Quantum Mechanics and the happening in Somalia? *Does Simon have a connection with the people seen trying to infiltrate the FBI Headquarters in Mark's flashforward? Category:Unsolved Category:Main characters Category:Characters who did not black out